[...]... markets by Chapter 1: Before You Trade • 15 learning to enter trades or positions only because of specific price behavior, known as a setup and trade trigger, in an individual market Different Trade Types There are three different trade types we will be covering, and their designation will depend on how long we plan on staying in the trade The first is a position trade, also called a trend trade, which we... must be—but long before it gets to the point where you are really enjoying yourself, it is work Before you click that mouse and enter a trade, you are going to have to put in long hours reading and rereading this book, viewing and reviewing your course material, and, depending on whether you are a day trader and where you live, going to bed early enough to get a good night’s sleep and waking up at 1... teach you to trade, they need to teach you to overcome past experiences and other distractions, and, above all, to listen Trading is a game of thinking before doing It’s extremely important that you be able to follow orders and stick to your plan, and more often than not, those orders and that plan will tell you to do nothing now and wait for a better setup, or to keep your stop where it is and stay in... if you are a swing trader or position trader, or even if you are a day trader and you step away from the screen for a moment Let’s start out with what times of the day not to trade, and remember that these are going to be times when there is low volume in the market The chart in Exhibit 2-1, with volume figures in the bottom panel, makes it quite clear when to trade and when not to trade on an hour-by-hour... intentionally left blank Chapter 1 BEFORE YOU TRADE ost new traders realize after only a few live trades that they are terrified of the markets, and this fear is a major reason why so many traders fail M Fear and Trading Most people aren’t able to execute under the pressure that their fear creates I’ve had plenty of clients admit that putting on a live trade, particularly after a losing trade or worse, a string... getting paid for it makes it an even more dangerous aphrodisiac Stick to factbased assessments, such as the pattern of highs and lows in a market and the current price direction on the monthly and weekly charts, and do not fall into the trap of trying to predict a market’s outcome or, Chapter 1: Before You Trade • 11 worse, trying to call a “top” or “bottom” in the market You must know that as a trader,... Chapter 2: Preparing to Trade • 21 the London session And as with any job, you are going to have good days and bad days, particularly in your first couple of years, and you may have slumps during which you even doubt yourself and this dream of being a successful trader What will carry you through these times is your work ethic If you cannot get out of bed and prepare yourself mentally to trade after... whether she has some form of live trading room Any time an educator is willing to put herself in front of you and a live market, and point out how and when a method generates trades and how to manage those trades, you can probably have some assurance that she knows what she is doing Just as important, educators today should also be subject to some form of regulatory review of their products and services If... your eyes and ask yourself, “Can I achieve this dream of being a successful trader?” If the answer is yes and it should be—ask yourself what’s the only thing that could stop you Realize that the only thing that’s standing in your way is yourself And the only thing that need be on your mind Chapter 2: Preparing to Trade • 25 when you sit down to trade be it demo or live—is how thankful you are for the... helmet, instead of teaching tactics and execution Times Not to Trade There are definitely times of the day when you should not trade, days of the week when you had better be very careful trading, namely Friday, and times of the year when you either should not trade at all or at least should trade smaller These times are when the trader participation rates are low, and therefore volume is low Markets nearly . prerequisite for this book. Mastering Trade Selection and Management focuses on helping you to collate and balance the earlier information, and to refine. good for the prop traders who worked on the “screen” and, like all traders, relied on market movement. It was also a boon for the futures and options traders on